Dedicating My Heart

As December days march speedily along with the hustle and bustle of the season, my soul finds stillness in the memory of nine glowing candles that graced my dining table.  One white candle stood tall in a golden candlestick, designating the shamash or servant candle in my nontraditional menorah, while eight smaller lights were lit to represent the eight days of Hanukkah.  Also known as the Festival of Lights, this is a celebration of  the Light of the World who told his disciples, "You are the light of the world."  Never familiar to me until the last few years, this is a holiday that is becoming more and more precious to my heart.  Its prophetic fulfillment and foreshadows, and its spiritual truths run deep.
  
 Because this holiday is so new to me, I began last year to create a few decorations that would be meaningful.  I figured that denim would be a perfect medium to use, since I had lots of old jeans to recycle and the color would be just perfect.  As denim has come to have a lot of symbolism for me, that just adds depth to the mix.

"Hanukkah" is no longer a foreign word to me.  I now know that Hanukkah means "dedication", thus the day is also referred to as the Feast of Dedication.  The holiday is a remembrance of the courageous Jews who stood firm with God's help against idolatry in the face of persecution and rededicated God's Holy Temple in 165 BC after it had been defiled.  Nearly 200 years later, we see the Messiah in that very same temple at Hanukkah.  In John 10:22,23 we read, "Then came the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) at Jerusalem.  It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade."  If Hanukkah was important to Yeshua, then that makes it important to me.

Make me whiter than snow!

Although the Temple has been destroyed, we must still continue to fight against the idolatry that is so pervasive in this world in which we live.  Individually and corporately we have the high calling to be holy temples for the LORD to live within.  Are we willing to be set apart and holy?  Will we let our lights shine for him?  If this is to be the case, we must continually dedicate our hearts to the LORD.

 What will we look like if we shine for him?  We will look like our Master!  We will exhibit fruit that comes from loving God and our neighbor.  I noticed that just as there are nine candles on the menorah, the Bible lists nine Fruit of the Spirit.  These qualities are the reflection of what the light of God will look like if it dwells in us.   

 This is what I want to look like:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

   

This beautiful song expresses my heart's desire:

To understand new meanings about the ancient festival of Hanukkah in light of Messiah 
and about how it is relevant and important for all believers: 
http://elshaddaiministries.us/MiscPDF/light-in-the-darkness_ebook.pdf